EV warning as Brits may be forced to pay thousands to switch despite Rishi Sunak U-turn | Politics | News

Tory MPs have warned that Britons could be forced to switch to electric vehicles at a cost of £127billion despite Rishi Sunak’s U-turn on cars.

The Net Zero Scrutiny Group of backbench MPs said the Government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate is being pushed through Parliament this week “with limited scrutiny”.

The ZEV mandate introduces a mandatory target of 22 percent of vehicle sales to be zero emission at the tailpipe in 2024 rising to 100 percent by 2035.

The ZEV policy will cost £127billion, equivalent to £4,700 per household, an official Government document has showed.

But the same document also highlights that the policy will bring economic benefits worth £166billion, or £5,900 per household.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg MP said: “I welcomed the Prime Minister’s call for realism and pragmatism about the cost of Net Zero, so forcing the ZEV mandate through Parliament virtually unchanged is surprisingly inconsistent.

“This rush to foist EVs on consumers, against the Prime Minister’s stated policy, will prove enormously costly and vote losing if it is pursued in this dictatorial way.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rowed back on a series of pledges the Government had made which were designed to help decarbonise the UK.

This included delaying the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

Lord Frost said: “The Department of Transport is making a huge mistake in failing to recognise the value of consumer choice and in believing it can adequately predict future market developments.

“The aggressive ramp up of compulsory EV targets is likely to end in disaster.”

Vehicle makers that fail to achieve the ZEV mandate sales targets will be subject to fines.

If a company misses the target, it will be made to pay the Government £15,000 for every car that fails to comply.

Green campaigners have hailed the ZEV mandate which they say is an essential part of decarbonising transport.

Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “It appears that the Net Zero Scrutiny Group have only read half of the Government’s impact assessment.

« They’ve missed the bit where it says that a ZEV Mandate will bring economic benefits worth £166 billion, or £5,900 per household. In fact, as the Government’s impact assessment clearly states, the net benefits of the policy come in at £39 billion, or £1,400 per household.

« That’s because the ZEV mandate will accelerate the UK’s uptake of EVs, and EVs are much cheaper to own and operate. Research by the ECIU has found that a Nissan Leaf, compared to a petrol equivalent, can save its owner over £1200 a year in fuel costs alone.

« To access these savings, most UK households will rely on the second-hand market – its where most of us buy our cars. And this is where the ZEV mandate will play a critical role – in driving up sales of new EVs, it will drive up the pace at which EVs arrive on the second hand market. Without it, the UK’s drivers will be stuck driving slower and more expensive petrol cars for longer”.

Some Britons have faced issues with access to electric vehicle charge points and range issues, which has hampered take up of the green cars.

Marcus Fysh MP said: “As someone who has driven an electric car for six years now, I am in favour of new energy technology development but I also know that charging and grid infrastructure needs colossal investment to be able to deliver on a mass market for electric vehicles and I don’t think it is practical to mandate such a high level of EV over such a short period. »